Author: Peter Loop

I was kinda dreading sailing in the cold and rain today but the rain never appeared in anything more than a mist. But we really had our share of wind. Not everyone can make every event but today is the type of day that goes to show it is better to come and take a chance than to skip it do to the forecast. The strong winds really tested our boats I had water in my boat despite my brand new hatch, Ed lost his hatch tried to race anyway and almost lost his boat. The spare boat I loaned him developed a rigging problem purely related to the additional strain of the strong winds. Peter had a weakness in his rigging revealed that was just bedeviling him and Rick had a sail winch pretty much give up the ghost. racing was keen no one skipper dominated, all had good and bad races. All in all a great day playing at the pond. Also two or three new people showed a lot of interest in the activities and we will be seeing some of them at our next fun sail. In closing I have attached the Frost bite schedule I believe it will print. We had 14 today lets shoot for everyone on march 6th noon at Tualatin. stay well Gary

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Here’s the basic port/starboard rule from the 2021 Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS):

When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.

Two definitions in the RRS tell you how to know which tack you are on.

Tack, Starboard or Port A boat is on the tack, starboard or port, corresponding to her windward side.

That’s easy, but how about when you are running downwind?

Leeward and Windward A boat’s leeward side is the side that is or, when she is head to wind, was away from the wind. However, when sailing by the lee or directly downwind, her leeward side is the side on which her mainsail lies. The other side is her windward side….

All of the boats drawn below are on starboard tack. The arrow indicates the wind.

Before the next race while you are sailing your boat near the starting line, think about which tack you are on both coming toward you and sailing away. I’ll show typical port-starboard situations in a couple of weeks.

Richard adds: A definition of port/starboard that I’ve seen is port is when the mainsail is on the starboard side and starboard is when the mainsail is on the port side. This covers both up and downwind (wing and wing).

Ever wondered why the terms “Port” and “Starboard” is used to denote Left and Right side on ships? (YouTube Video)

During earlier days, before ships had rudders on their centerlines, boats were controlled using a steering oar. As it is very common that most of the people are right handed in the world, most of the sailors were also right handed, so the steering oar used to control the ship was placed over or through the right side near the stern. Thus most of the sailors used to call the right side as the “Steering Side”, which soon became “Starboard”. The word “Starboard” is formed by combining two old English words: stéor (meaning “steer”) and bord (meaning “the side of a boat”)

As the size of ships grew, so did the steering oar, making it much easier to make fast a ship to a dock on the side opposite the steering oar, i.e, the boats/ships used to dock with the left side of the ship facing the shore/dock.

The original name of the left side of the ship was not “port” but rather the old English “baecbord.” This was probably referencing the fact that on larger boats the helmsman would often have to hold the steering oar with both hands so that his back would be to the left side of the ship/boat. After “baecbord” came “ladderbord” meaning “laden” (meaning to load) and bord meaning “ship’s side,” this gave rise to the starboard rhyming word “larboard.” As the time passed, it became evident that “larboard” is very easily confused with “starboard” during communications. Hence it was replaced with the word “port” as this was the side that faced the port or the dock, allowing cargo to be loaded or discharged.

So, that is how the terms “Port” and “Starboard” came in existence.

Since “Port” and “Starboard” never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, thus removing the chances of any ambiguity and hence sailors prefer to use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion.

AM capsized while leading race.

Greetings RCMSC members,

It’s time to send in your 2021 dues. Mail your $20.00 check payable to RCMSC to me at 12307 NE 13^th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98685. Please let me know about any changes to your contact info, boats you own, and if you have joined AMYA.

Commodore Gary has scheduled our annual meeting on Jan 30 at 11:00 am at Tualatin Community Park about 3 blocks north of the Commons. The park address is 8515 SW Tualatin Rd. Use the parking lot just north of the trestle. We’ll use an open air shelter called “the rustic shelter” next to the parking lot. Following the meeting, take a lunch break on your own, then enjoy your first 2021 fun sail at the Commons. Washington County currently allows recreational gatherings of up to 50 people. Wear a mask and observe required spacing.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of the Frostbite Series:
– Feb 21 Frostbite Series race #1
– Mar 6 Fun sail
– Mar 21 Frostbite Series race #2
– Apr 10 Fun sail
– Apr 25 Frostbite Series race #3
On race days skippers meet at noon, and the first race starts shortly after.

I’ll send a reminder notice on Jan 28.

Meanwhile, stay safe!

Stan

From Model Yachting issues #130 and #146.

Click to access 130_SailsPart1.pdf

Click to access 146_SailsPart2.pdf

Dear Sailors, The following letter was written by Will Lesh.  It is with great sadness that I am writing to let you know that we have lost a close friend and the Commodore of the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club. Ron Knight passed away last week at his home after an adverse reaction to medication he was taking to manage atrial fibrillation. Ron was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma this past summer, and had recently begun chemotherapy. A little over a month ago Ron appeared to be in fine shape. When he received the diagnosis for the lymphoma, he was clear about his intention to beat it.    Ron’s wife Pat and his three daughters and five grandchildren were with him in his final days. I spoke to Ron in the hospital, and he was weak, but very clear about what was taking place. He told me very succinctly that his condition was terminal and that he hoped to get home for a few days before the end. I am not sure that I could ever be so brave in such a situation.   Ron had a distinguished career as one of the top open heart surgeons in the Pacific Northwest. Once when we were working together on model boats, Ron began describing what it was like holding a living heart in one hand and operating on it with the other hand. It always seemed quite remarkable having a heart surgeon helping out with finishing off T37s to ship. Ron came up a number of times, sometimes for a couple of days, and pitched in at Tippecanoe. He was always great company and a very welcome guest.   Ron’s skill and competence as a craftsperson developed beautifully with each boat that he built, and his last masterpiece was truly impressive. He built a very special T37 for the Center for Wooden Boats and presented it in a recent ceremony to commemorate Colleen Wagner, one of the founding members of the Center along with her husband Dick Wagner. The boat, a T37 named “Colleen”, is on permanent display at the Center for Wooden Boats.   Ron was always so devoted to his entire family. He took such pleasure in building model boats, T37s and the T24 Tug, with his grandchildren and for his grandchildren. As Commodore of the PNMYC, he took on the responsibilities with maybe some reluctance initially, but over the last few years he put heart and soul into the club. He was a wonderful leader for the group and did a huge amount to promote rc sailing in the Pacific Northwest. He became one of the top racing skippers in the group through constant focus and dedication to developing his racing skills.   Best of all Ron was a great friend to many of us, and all who knew him even casually always spoke highly of him and felt his warmth and generosity instinctively. I just got off the phone with a T37 owner who was full of praise for the job Ron was doing with the PNMYC when very sadly I had to let him know that we needed to be talking in the past tense about our Commodore.   Over the last ten years, I have spent many hours together with Ron. His expert knowledge about aviation, his background of years of skippering his own racing yacht on the Sound, his general interest and often surprising depth of knowledge in many fields always made Ron a charming companion. I feel privileged for all the times I have spent with Ron and for all that I have learned from him. We were lucky to have Ron as our Commodore. Ron always felt that following Allan VanNess as Commodore would be a hard thing to do well enough, but I don’t think anybody has any doubt that Ron pulled it off brilliantly and with total success. Thank you Ron for everything.Will Lesh  Tippecanoe Boats
4305 Nordum Road
Everson, Washington 98247
800-206-0006/360-966-7245
www.sailingisme.com

I’ll add my own note: Ron was a great guy, a tremendous help to me learning to sail a T37 in Seattle, he will be missed. – Peter

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Here are two new boats for the RCMSC Fleet hulls #s 1613 and 3125. These boats are built to the latest RC SAILBOAT: T37 RACING SLOOP instructions from TIPPECANOE BOATS . This includes a change of servo to the D645MW  Programable High Torque, Metal Gear Servo for the Sail. Reprogramed to 120 degrees of movement. as well as the latest sheet control layout, including a sliding boom. I’ve also added a servo tray of my own design to keep everything organized.

I enjoy the building of one of these boats as much as sailing then, it is not a complex build. I want to encourage each of you to build a boat. There ARE club resources available to help. Advice is cheap and plentiful. I have the latest instruction manual from Will. Gary is a master woodworker and can build you a Boom Vang, in common use by the club. We have a Mast and Keel Jig to help with construction . I have a Hightec servo programmer if needed. I can cut you a servo tray and a template for sail markings. There are build videos and other resources on the club’s T37 page.

Build A T37 this winter, we are here to help!

Yesterday was our last official function for this year. We had really good winds for a couple hours then the rain started and the winds began failing. We had a decent turnout at 11 people with a couple visitors, Cindy from the power boat group and Dicks Son joined us for some fun races and tuning work. Peter brought a new build and was having a shake down cruise. It may be the new club boat or one he was doing for himself (1613 is my build- peter) he wasn’t even quite sure. still working on a suitable location for the meeting. If you guys have any issues you want to be discussed at the meeting please respond to all and I will start compiling a list for the agenda. More to come on this process. Remember it’s your club I am just the nut driving the handle.  – Gary

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